In response to Bruce Peterson

August 26, 2013

Thank you Mr. Petersen for your response in defense of why Forest Hill Cemetery looks the way it does. I'm sorry you don't have enough manpower or money to keep up the many graves that do not have perpetual care. In my instance, we do have Perpetual Care. If only 20 percent of the graves are perpetual care, it seems like 3 fulltime people can at least keep the walkways clean.

Thank you for donating the wood from the 17 hazardous trees to Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly. How did you determine what trees had to come down? The tree on my grandparents grave has been there over 50 years. The last time we were at the cemetery, before it was cut down, it was on their plot and didn't seem hazardous to our family.

Now, you failed to answer my question which was: "Why is there so much debris on the major walkways between grave plots?"

It seems like everywhere a tree was cut down there is a mess of sawdust in the main walkways between grave plots. There are also dead branches along these walkways that seem to be from last year looking at their appearance. I was always taught:

"If you make a mess, you clean it up." I think the cemetery needs to at least clean up all the saw dust and debris in the major walkways.

The people who visit these graves didn't make the mess, Portage Township Cemetery Employees did.